Lundi: Recipes

Happy Lundi Gras! Tomorrow, of course, is Mardi Gras - Fat Tuesday - one of the biggest holidays for anyone with ties to the Gulf Coast and especially for all of us Creoles. Eat, drink and be merry for Lent is just around the corner. And here's a recipe that lets you do all those things at once: bread pudding with whiskey sauce from Roy F. Guste, Jr's The 100 Greatest New Oleans Creole Recipes.

2 eggs
2 cups milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup raisins
1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
6 ounces stale french bread (about 1/2 of a 32 inch loaf)
1/3 cup bourbon whiskey

In a large mixing bowl mix the eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla and raisins. Break the bread into small pieces and add to this mixture. Fold all together and let it soak for a few minutes. Butter a loaf pan or baking dish. Pour the entire mixture into the buttered pan and bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

The whiskey sauce: melt the butter and sugar together in a saucepan. Turn the heat off and add the bourbon. Mix thoroughly.

To serve, spoon the warm bread pudding onto plates and drizzle some of the whiskey sauce over the top.

Note that Monsieur Guste adds that any fruit of your choice can be added to the bread pudding before baking. I think "craisins" - those dried cranberries - are a nice substitute for raisins, of which I am not a fan. Be creative, have fun and bon appetite ~

Header: They Are Only Collecting the Usual Fans and Gloves by Charles Dana Gibson via American Gallery